Spray in trials to treat heroin addicts

GW Pharmaceuticals, the small British company at the forefront of developing cannabis medicines, is to have its innovative drug-dispensing equipment used in trials with registered heroin addicts.

The National Addiction Centre, with the approval of the Home Office, is to use GW's advanced dispensing system in trials with 30,000 registered patients receiving methadone and diamorphine.

The GW device allows users to take approved opiates via a spray under the tongue rather than having to inject them using needles. The ADS device electronically controls the amount of drugs dispensed to users at any one time and, therefore, reduces the amount of supervision needed at medical centres.

"We are looking for a major increase in safety and effectiveness of treatment alongside a dramatic increase in the number of patients being treated - without any increase in the cost per patient," said John Strang, director of the National Addiction Centre.

GW's chairman, Geoffrey Guy, said he hoped to meet a target to provide its dispenser to 60,000 addicts within three years. There are estimated to be 250,000 regular heroin users in Britain but only 30,000 are receiving methadone prescriptions and many of these are being handed out in large weekly instalments. This method is thought to be responsible for a growing number of deaths by overdose.

Meanwhile, GW is planning to increase the number of trials it is running to discover the medical benefits of cannabis from seven to nine.

Later this year it could have nearly 1,000 patients trialling cannabis-based treatments for multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and cancer pain. It will submit its findings for approval early next year and hopes to obtain a licence soon after, while similar moves are afoot in mainland Europe and Canada.

To meet the growing needs of its trials, the company has signed a contract with an unnamed third party to produce 60 tonnes of cannabis a year. GW already grows 30 tonnes under greenhouses in secret locations in the south of England.

GW reported a loss in line with its budget of £5.3m for the six months to March 31, compared with a £2m deficit for the same period last year.

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